League: Faumuina seals his own fate

Warriors 25-year-old utility Sione Faumuina has been involved in a series of disciplinary incidents this season. Picture / Brett Phibbs

The ticking bomb that is Sione Faumuina finally exploded beyond the Warriors' tolerance zone, with the incident that led to his sacking just one in a series this season in which he breached discipline standards.

The 25-year-old utility had been axed after an incident in the Mt Smart Stadium aftermatch lounge on Sunday. Faumuina, who has played two tests, had a year left on his contract.

Manly were quickly linked to Faumuina but yesterday denied they were after his signature although a spokesman said he did not believe the player's record would prevent him finding a new club.

A drunken and abusive rampage by Faumuina at Awen Guttenbeil's testimonial lunch early this month had already left his Warriors career on thin ice.

When intoxicated and in this mood, Faumuina is generous with his invective. Kiwis coach Brian McClennan, Warriors coach Ivan Cleary and teammate and Kiwis captain Ruben Wiki were among those included in his outburst at the testimonial.

Less than four weeks later, after the Warriors' brilliant performance against the Roosters on Sunday, it is understood that an intoxicated Faumuina let fly again in the aftermatch lounge where members of the public were in attendance. Teammates and autograph hunters were all in the firing line during this salvo.

Chief executive Wayne Scurrah would not reveal any of the details of Sunday's drama, but said there had been four previous incidents this year, three of them alcohol-related. Faumuina has discipline problems from previous years on his record.

"It's a setback for the club. It is when you lose any player. You put players on contract for a purpose," said Scurrah.

He said Faumuina had repeatedly been pointed towards alcohol counselling but had taken only minimal steps in that direction. Scurrah said the player would be regretting that now.

Faumuina indicated he wanted out of the club following the Guttenbeil fiasco, but after being reprimanded and fined $5000, he surprised club officials by re-affirming his desire to become a valued Warrior.

This raised a glimmer of hope, that he might try to turn his life around by dealing with the alcohol problem.

But Faumuina's brief utterances after the Guttenbeil incident suggested he was still scanning the horizon for others to blame. League icon Graham Lowe publicly questioned why the Warriors would retain such a destabilising influence.

The season started promisingly for Faumuina. New coach Cleary gave him a huge vote of confidence, naming him at standoff in the opener against the Storm.

Faumuina immediately struck trouble, copping a two-game suspension for a careless tackle which opened the door for Jerome Ropati in the No 6 jersey. Ropati put on a swaggering four-try performance against the Roosters just an hour or so before Faumuina put the final blot on his Warriors copybook.

Faumuina's last match was the club's most recent loss, a towelling at the hands of Penrith in Sydney.

In the pragmatic world of professional sport, Faumuina's negative influence has outgrown his usefulness. A lesser player might have been chopped earlier.

Faumuina, who has been represented by the former Kiwis prop Peter Brown, had his contract terminated at a meeting on Tuesday.

Scurrah said: "We saw him as a potential success story at this club. You can point people towards help but in the end it is up to the individual."

Wing Misi Taulapapa, who made his NRL debut in April, was axed after five matches for discipline breaches.

"We are trying to build a club of strong character and high values and the majority of players are jumping behind that," Scurrah said.

Faumuina and Brown could not be reached for comment.

* The Warriors yesterday said Cleary's contract had been extended until the end of 2008, with an option to stay on in 2009. Cleary, who is in his debut season as an NRL coach, was originally signed until the end of 2007.